MSN Movies Blog

Hollywood to just go ahead and remake everything

By Corwin Neuse Aug 5, 2011 10:13AM
Not Wall-E.With Deadline announcing that Dimension Films will reboot "Short Circuit" with "Hop" and "Alvin and the Chipmunks" director Tim Hill, it appears Hollywood has officially given up, and will just go ahead and remake everything.

"Short Circuit"—a family comedy about a military robot who gains sentience after being hit by lightning—would seem a curious choice for the reboot/remake/re-imagining treatment, but it actually holds a number of Box Office records. It was the sixth highest grossing PG movie of 1986, for instance, and is currently the 1,492nd highest grossing film of all time. Moreover, just as its original filmmakers inexplicably failed to release it in the lucrative 3D format, they also deigned to use hideous practical effects instead of cutting-edge computer generated imagery to animate their robotic hero. Such oversights are surely what prevented the film from selling oodles of toys, pajamas, and other branded merchandise back in the day, and are also what Dimension presumably aims to "fix" with their remake.

 

Unofficial first look week rides on

By Kate Erbland Aug 5, 2011 9:43AM
Not to be outdone by yesterday's big reveal of Henry Cavill as Superman, an AICN reader has dug up a first official look at Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle (a.k.a. Catwoman) in Christopher Nolan's upcoming "The Dark Knight Rises," the final film in his Batman trilogy.

While it's hard to judge just about anything from single production shots, what this first look at Hathaway as Kyle does reveal is that Hathaway will certainly don a tight-fitting leather suit and a mask, a perfect outfit for Catwoman to wear while committing the cat burglaries she is best known for. Why is that such a big deal? When Hathaway was announced as a member of the film's cast, no official press releases ever referred to her as Catwoman, every piece of information called her Selina Kyle. The subtext was there - would she only play Selina Kyle, a woman we know goes on to become Catwoman, or would she play both Selina and her alterego? This picture makes is clear - Hathaway is going at least look like a superhero in her own right in "The Dark Knight Rises."

Catwoman is a phenomenally complicated character, one with much in common with Batman. Like Batman, her early life was marked by tragedy. Like Batman, she turned to an alterego to exorcise some personal demons and fight the status quo. But unlike Batman, Catwoman lives her life in shades of gray. Starting out as a talented cat burglar, her outright criminal activities could never allow her to be purely "good," something that Batman (and Bruce Wayne) could never quite understand. The two have a fraught history (to say the least), so it will be interesting to see how Nolan brings them together (and tears them apart) in "The Dark Knight Rises." It will also be interesting to see if Hathaway gets a spin-off from the film, as the Catwoman canon has many different stories to tell.

 

Tinfoil Babies and Going for the 'R' ...

By James Rocchi Aug 5, 2011 9:35AM


In part one of our coverage of the press conference for "The Change Up," Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds -- who play an uptight family-man lawyer and a too-loose layabout who swap lives -- talked about their mutual respect and breaking up on set, In part two, they chat about their leading ladies Leslie Mann and Olivia Wilde, as well as special-effects babies.

 

There's a few ways to do a body-switching movie: You can do it the way you guys did it, where you play the other part, or you can do it where the actors continue playing their roles and the gimmick is that the other characters see that differently.  Was part of the fun taking on each other's mannerisms, or would you have preferred to do it the other way?

 

Reynolds: I wouldn't have. Every actor loves a challenge like that where you get to play two different people in the same film. For me, I think the only way to do it was that. Plus, it allows you to inhabit the bodies these guys are in, to really experience their world. The fact that basically if the film where two drunk idiots piss in a magic fountain, great, but they switch bodies, great, and then what happens after that is what to me was the reason to do the film. To have this mentally unhinged lunatic be looking after your children was very appealing. There's something fantastic about that setup and that payoff and vice-versa. This conservative guy is basically inhabiting the world of a guy who, unbeknownst to him, is working in porn. It's absurd, but that's what it's all about. If you're seeing it all through the perspective of other people, I don't think it would be as rewarding.

 

Bateman: Ditto.

 

Reynolds: Thanks for weighing in.


 

Kristen Wiig's passion project is coming together with some unexpected choices

By Kate Erbland Aug 4, 2011 6:16PM

We’ve known about Kristen Wiig’s passion project “Imogene” for only a few weeks now, but with filming set to start this month in New York City, casting news is rolling out fast. The film, written by Michelle Morgan, sees Wiig starring as a playwright who fakes a suicide attempt in order to catch the attention of her beloved ex-boyfriend. The plan backfires quite terribly, however, as the stunt lands her in the custody of her mother. The film previously added Annette Bening to play Wiig’s mother, a sassy Jersey mom with a gambling problem. Darren Criss is (somewhat inexplicably) on board to play Wiig’s character’s ex-boyfriend.

 

Now Variety and The Playlist report that Natasha Lyonne and June Diane Raphael have joined the cast, rounding out some of the film’s supporting roles. Lyonne will play a “Jersey Shore girl named Allyson who works on the boardwalk.” She is also the reported love interest of Christopher Fitzgerald’s character in the film. Few people can play adorably brassy the way Lyonne can, so this sounds like a perfect fit for the raspy-voice actress. Raphael’s role has not been announced yet, but you may recognize her from small roles in “Year One” and “Going the Distance.” She also co-wrote “Bride Wars,” a sin that may be absolved by her continued work in actually good films, which “Imogene” should be.

 

Wiig will also executive produce the project, which she has long been trying to get to the screen. “Imogene” looks to work from a sort of “you can’t go home again” sensibility, as Wiig’s character has to deal with both her own problems, her mother’s gambling, and the issues that arise when a slightly hip New York playwright gets stuck back in Jersey.

 

“Imogene” is set to be directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (the pair have previously directed such varied fare as “Cinema Verite,” “American Splendor,” and “The Nanny Diaries”).

 

Kenneth Lonergan's long-troubled follow-up to 'You Can Count on Me' now has a release date

By William Goss Aug 4, 2011 3:38PM
The tale of Kenneth Lonergan's "Margaret" is a long and troubled one.

His follow-up to acclaimed directorial debut "You Can Count on Me," the film -- about a young woman (Anna Paquin) coming to terms with her role in a NYC bus accident -- was shot back in 2005. Lonergan had difficulty in the editing room finding a three-hour cut that he'd be happy with, while Fox Searchlight, who took on distribution, mandated a two-hour running time. Editors came and went, lawsuits ensued, producer Sydney Pollack passed away and Lonergan had to borrow a chunk of change from actor Matthew Broderick in order to complete the film; the L.A. Times went into greater detail back in 2009 than I care to in 2011.

Long story short: according to The Playlist, the wait may soon be over. With a cast that includes Broderick, Matt Damon, Olivia Thirlby, Jean Reno and Mark Ruffalo, "Margaret" should be receiving a limited release at the end of next month. Whether the film will jump right into the looming film festival fray or basically be buried remains to be seen, but at this point, Lonergan's latest comes out on September 30th of this year.

Of course, I'll believe it when I see it.

 

This fall's adaptation of John Le Carre's classic espionage novel looks promising

By William Goss Aug 4, 2011 2:53PM
I greatly admired Tomas Alfredson's chilly approach to Swedish vampire tale "Let the Right One In," and judging from the first international trailers for his upcoming "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy," his direction is a smart fit for John Le Carre's story of a mole hunt within the ranks of British intelligence during the Cold War.

And even if that weren't the case, a cast including Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Toby Jones, John Hurt, Mark Strong, Ciarán Hinds and Benedict Cumberbatch is nothing to sniff at. As we ease from brainless summer blockbusters into more measured fall fare, the trailer below sets the right tone for the season. Do you agree? Are you a fan of the novel, or its popular 1979 miniseries incarnation? Or do you just like saying "Cumberbatch"?
 
 

And no, it's not a trilogy

By Corwin Neuse Aug 4, 2011 1:05PM
Pic unrelated.According to The Hollywood Reporter, Michael Gracy—a commercials director with a noted fondness and formidable facility for special effects—has landed the unenviable job of ushering Disney's "Order of the Seven" to the silver screen. Previously known as "Snow White and the Order of the Seven," the flick will (presumably) be the third Snow White film to reach theaters, after the Lily Collins/Julia Roberts "Untitled Snow White Project" and the Kristen Stewart/Charlize Theron "Snow White and the Huntsman."

"Order of the Seven" will distinguish itself from its contemporaries by being the only one set in China, by swapping out the previously obligatory dwarves for "a disparate band of international warriors," and by being the only one without "Snow White" in its title. 
 
 

Film hailed by animal rights group, critics alike

By Corwin Neuse Aug 4, 2011 11:21AM
Hail Caesar!PETA—the notable, widely influential animal rights advocacy group—has, perhaps unsurprisingly, come out in support of "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." Applauding more the film's use of CGI simians rather than its overt "animal testing is bad" moralizing, PETA has gone so far as to bestow their heretofore unheard of but presumably prestigious Proggy Award upon "Apes" director Rupert Wyatt. 

Eschewing the exploitative use of real, live monkeys—or the degrading practice of forcing human actors to wear goofy gorilla costumes like in previous installments—Wyatt employed the same type of innovative motion-capture technology as in "Avatar" to portray the titular apes. Andy Serkis, who's an expert at mo-cap if there are any, has been justifiably singled out for his performance as Caesar. No disrespect to James Franco, but Serkis is the clear star of the show. 
 
 
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